Washington, D.C. (September 23, 2011)—The Independent Community Bankers of America sent a letter to Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) today to express support for the Financial Regulatory Responsibility Act of 2011 (S. 1615), because the association believes it will help address the stifling regulatory burden facing the nation’s community banks.

“ICBA has always championed regulatory relief for community banks. Regulations must not be onerous or imposed on a one-size-fits-all basis,” ICBA President and CEO Cam Fine wrote in the letter. “Community banks contend with costly, unwieldy regulatory burdens that often jeopardize their capacity to raise capital, lend to small businesses and consumers, and support job creation.”

The bill would require the financial agencies to subject proposed new rules to a more rigorous, 12-point analysis to ensure that they are truly needed, are designed to pose as little burden and cost as possible, and pass a basic cost-benefit test. “Importantly, the legislation would also require a retrospective ‘look-back’ every five years so that regulators could evaluate rules after they’ve been put in place,” Fine wrote.

Fine closed the letter by saying that in this difficult economic environment, the Financial Regulatory Responsibility Act offers welcome relief by putting a reasonable check on new regulations, ensuring that they do not jeopardize community banks’ viability by imposing costs that outweigh any benefit. “The Financial Regulatory Responsibility Act will require financial agencies to more fully analyze alternative approaches to new regulations and to determine ways to streamline existing regulations,” he wrote.